You will be our eyes. You will help us know more about the countries you visit, the spiritual climate there, and how we can best use future squads….You will spend time searching for and connecting with missionaries and ‘people-of-peace’ that we can build relationships with, so that even after you leave, we will have a connection in that country….This route will require much self-initiative from you…You will search for ministry opportunities without the help of a ministry host.
These are not exact quotes, but they are concepts that were impressed in my mind as I went through training for Expedition and heard our leadership team at Adventures in Missions describe what my World Race route would entail. There have been and are dozens of Expedition Racers on the field, and there’s also an impressive leadership team back at AIM who have poured their time, energy, and hearts into Expedition routes… that said, this blog expresses my personal thoughts on what Expedition is about.
The heartbeat of the men and women back at the AIM headquarters in Georgia, and the heartbeat of all the Racers that I know is to love God, love people, and serve God as He seeks and saves the lost, so that none may perish. We have asked ourselves how we can be faithful to Jesus’ call to go and make disciples of every nation. In this season of my life, I have a unique opportunity to actually be one who gets to go to the nations. The World Race traditional routes and Expedition routes are but one piece of a dazzling story that God is unfolding every day… mere threads in a grand tapestry of human hearts being touched and changed by a God who loves relentlessly.
For over a decade, AIM has been developing relationships with Christians in dozens of countries, many of whom have now stepped into a “ministry host” role with the World Race. Racers on traditional routes most often spend each month with a ministry host, serving alongside them in their established ministry efforts in their community. Additionally, they have built relationships with “people-of-peace” in many countries who might not be Christians, but who are receptive to the values we hold, and who are people connected in their community, people of influence. People of peace often help Racers find their footing in countries and make connections.
I am a huge fan of this partnership. As someone who was saved on a short-term mission trip, and also someone who served nearly 5 years in long term missions before this trip, I see the value of both short-term and long-term missions. I am a huge supporter of long-term missionaries or native Christian “laymen workers” in each country being supported and energized in their endeavors by the excitement and passion of World Racers, many of whom are on their first mission trip. I also love the changes that happen in a Racer’s heart, some who may even catch the long-term bug so-to-speak… most whose lives are forever changed by being immersed in long-term ministry or missionary work for a time, and watching as the Lord moves in unimaginable ways.
How were those ministry host connections formed? The connections were made from countless Racers being present in the country, and available for God to use for His purposes. Now, AIM has well established connections in dozens of countries that continue to receive Racers every year, Racers who have a desire to follow Jesus to the nations, and Racers who support the work of these long-term ministries.
What does Expedition have to do with all of this, and how is our role different?
Expedition is pioneering
My squad is the 5th Expedition squad. We are going into the 10/40 Window, where only one other Expedition squad has gone before us…an area of the world where the people have been largely blinded to the Gospel. Of course, there are missionaries here! We are not saying that the WR is going to single-handedly bring the Gospel to this part of the world. But the World Race is hoping to connect with those missionaries and organizations who are serving here, so that if they want Racers in the future, we can send future Racers, by the dozens, and hundreds, and thousands in the years to come to this part of the world that is so desperate to know Christ!
Part of Expedition’s role is to pioneer for the World Race into this area of the world, and to find and connect with the body of believers here, and the long-term missionaries and potential organizations, and to build relationships. Now, keep in mind, this is an incredibly difficult task because there are so very few Christians in this part of the world. In many of the countries, gathering for church is illegal. How do you find these missionaries? Are there even Christian organizations in countries where it is illegal to be a Christian? Is there a house church within a hundred miles of you? I mean, seriously, it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. Yet, with God all things are possible. And that is why we came, to be available for God to use us to connect the World Race with Christians and people-of-peace in this part of the world.
Expedition is following the Lord into the unknown
As you can probably imagine, there are a plethora of unknowns that we are encountering on our Race. Not that other squads don’t, certainly each Racer has their own struggles. I mean in a very literal sense though, we often don’t know what we will do each and every day because we don’t have ministry hosts to lead and guide us in each country. It’s in a very real way a daily choice to follow the Lord into the unknown. Sometimes we do it well, sometimes we get discouraged because we’re not sure if this is what we “ought” to be doing or not.
We cannot measure our “success” here in the same ways that we would in America. And here in Morocco, a majority Muslim country where it is illegal to proselytize, we can’t exactly go around knocking on people’s doors and asking “Hi, are you a Christian? Can we get connected with you?”
Through it all, we must make the daily choice to trust the Lord with all of the unknowns. That He is using our time here for His glory and His purposes, no matter what we can see with our own eyes. That we have come here to be available for Him to use us in this unique pioneering role, to be eyes and ears for AIM, searching for ministry hosts and people of peace, and reporting back to them about how we think mnistry could happen in each country in the future, based on our experiences now. And we trust that the Lord will move when He wants to, no matter what, no matter the language barrier, or the political atmosphere, or the restraints on sharing the Gospel.
Expedition is about loving God and others with our whole hearts
The World Race emphasizes three values for all Racers: intimacy with God, community with each other, and mission (loving, serving, and reaching the lost for Christ). We continue to have the opportunity to grow in our love and relationship with God. The Lord has been showing me more and more of His heart and character while I’ve been here. Our team also gets to live in community together and learn how to love and serve each other as the living, breathing, body of Christ. And every day we look for opportunities to love and serve the spiritually lost, and share the Gospel, no matter if we have a ministry host or not. I’ve made dozens of new friends in parks, at cafes, on the Camino, on buses, etc. Every moment is an opportunity to love someone and tell them about Jesus. On my team, we are intentional to make these values and several others a part of our daily/weekly flow. We are not perfect at it, far from it, but we are intentional and we grow together as we seek to live out our values every day.
Finally, I will say that I honestly don’t think Expedition is for everyone. I don’t say that to be negative or discouraging, just truthful. It’s just like being a kindergarten teacher or an engineer or a chef isn’t for everyone. Some people will function much, much better with more structure, like a traditional route offers (although even there, there’s much less structure than we’re used to in America, and I know you will be stretched waaay past your comfort zone!) If you are considering applying for an Expedition route, I encourage you to pray and search your heart, bring your thoughts to the Lord, and follow the peace He gives you!
These are one girl’s thoughts on Expedition. For me, it can be incredibly difficult sometimes, but I see how the Lord is using our squad and it humbles me and I have joy that He would choose us for this unique role.
In Christ,
Elaine
